Taken By Storm(40)
Maybe because she haunted the hell out of him day and night and he worried about her safety all the time. Did he really think that would change once she was out of sight?
“Something troubles you?” Storm asked once she was beside him.
“Trying to clear my head.”
“By shaking it?” She grinned and took hold of his arm.
He felt as if he’d been struck by lightning by her simple touch, so strong was the passion that assaulted him. What was it about this woman that made him respond so carelessly, so eagerly, so wantonly?
“I’ve tried that myself. It doesn’t work,” she assured him.
“It’s worth a try,” he admitted, glad she kept her arm hooked with his. “Anything is better than endless chaos in your head.”
“Haven’t you heard?’ she said with a tease. “There is wisdom in madness.”
“Only a madman would claim that.”
Storm laughed, though it quieted fast enough. “Sometimes I wonder if madness isn’t a reprieve from sanity.”
“A double-edged sword that cuts the same.”
Storm sighed. “Exactly. What difference does either make in the end?”
They turned silent, each one lost in thought, Burke’s thoughts once again centered on Storm and her dangerous life. How did one stop being an outlaw? In the Dakota Territory, outlaws were outlaws. They were hunted until captured, and few if any escaped the law.
It was in essence a chosen life with a predictable ending.
Burke didn’t care for the thought and wondered how, in the time that remained to him here in Scotland, he could change the ending for Storm.
“Feel up to talking with us?” Storm asked Henry upon entering the hut.
“Of course,” Henry obliged, pulling himself up in bed with a groan or two.
Burke watched as Storm assisted the boy, helping him to sit up and arranging a pillow behind his back for comfort before sitting on the bed beside him. That she was an angel to these freed captives was obvious. They gazed on her with eyes of gratitude. He doubted there was anything they wouldn’t do for her if asked.
He dragged the only chair in the room over to the side of the bed where Storm perched and joined them.
“We heard that another prisoner shared the cell with you,” Storm said.
Henry nodded. “A big man.”
“Tall, wide?” Storm asked.
“Both,” Henry said, sounding impressed. “I had thought for certain he would break the chains they kept on his wrists and ankles, so large and thick were his arms.”
“Do you know his name?” Burke asked, hopeful.
Henry thought a moment and then shook his head slowly. “He never shared his name with me.”
“Do you know of his crime?” Storm asked.
“I heard the guards mention a theft and I asked the man one night what he had stolen. He told me something of great value that could never be replaced and that he would do it again if given the chance.”
“What else did you speak of?” Storm inquired.
Henry once again pondered the question. “We talked of family and discovered we both lacked one, his mother dying when he was young as did mine.”
Burke felt as if one of the pieces of the puzzle had just fallen into place.
“He didn’t know his father, nor did I. We both drifted among helpful strangers.”
“Can you think of anything else this man might have said?” Storm asked.
Henry once again gave the question thought and looked about to shake his head when suddenly he blurted out, “Love. He told me to find love, that it makes all the difference in the world.”
“Can you describe him to us?’ Storm asked.
Henry nodded staring at Burke. “He resembles him, same hair color, though longer, eyes, mouth the same, though bigger in size, a broader chest and shoulders and taller by a good four to five inches.”
“Good, that helps us,” Storm said. “If you should remember anything else about him, please tell me or Burke.”
Burke held his hand out to the lad. “Glad to meet you, Henry, and thanks for the help.”
Henry shook his hand. “Pleased I could help and I’m grateful for the rescue.”
Storm and Burke left the hut and wandered over to the campfire. They sat side by side on the decaying tree trunk.
Burke stared at the flames, his thoughts on his brother and all the years spent alone while he grew up with a loving family. It didn’t seem fair, but life wasn’t fair. If it was, his father would have found Cullen as a child and they would have been raised as brothers. They were nothing but strangers right now, and Burke wanted desperately to change that.
He felt Storm’s hand slip over his and lock fingers. He grabbed on to her offer of comfort, not letting go.